Hello friends! Clayburn Cox here. Thank you so much for your interest in my comedy and storytelling. If you’ve ever seen me on stage, you’ve probably noticed that I keep my comedy extremely clean. As you might imagine, this isn’t necessarily always popular.

Unfortunately, many comedians (who are very talented) sometimes employ absolutely filthy material. And to be honest, their acts may get bigger laughs than mine. However, regardless of my desire for audience approval, I never want to compromise my convictions for a few laughs.

Why is it important that I keep my act so clean? Jesus has made me clean. Don’t get me wrong; I’m far from perfect. I have sinned and I’ve done things that I regret. There hasn’t been one day of my life that I’ve lived perfectly. However, God loves me despite my sins. He has forgiven me of my sins and cleansed my filthy heart. He loves you and wants to forgive you too!

Considered “one of the brightest young minds in Christian Comedy,” Mike Goodwin has a heart to bring strength and healing through joy to the Body of Christ. That’s why he’s dedicated his comedic gift and wit to a style and delivery that is as clean as his bowtie…

Mike was born again at a New Year’s Eve service in 1998. Ironically, a New Year’s Eve service was also the birthplace of Comedian Mike Goodwin. Mike opened for Comedian Akintunde that night in 2002 and he has been leaving his mark ever since.

A Camden, South Carolina native, Mike is the oldest of three children. Mike entered the United States Army after graduating from Camden High School in 1993. After four years of service, Mike exited active duty to enroll into Lander University in Greenwood, SC. At Lander, Mike was very involved on campus, and the seeds of comedy were planted. Mike hosted a myriad of events, and he also served as a student ambassador of the college. Mike was also initiated into the Gamma Nu chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi and he is a charter member of the Omicron Nu chapter.

Mike graduated from Lander University with a BS in Political Science in 2001. He also graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Master of Education in 2003. Mike also served in the US Army Reserves as a commissioned officer.

Mike incorporates his life experience into his roles as a comedian, writer and motivational speaker. Mike and his beautiful wife Rozalynn, and their daughter and son live in Columbia, South Carolina, where he also serves as an Elder at Right Direction Church International.

…Good laughs are guaranteed and you’ll be laughing about his wit long after the show. He’s serious about God and seriously funny.

Hawkins has been accused of being equally gifted and twisted. Whatever your take, he has indeed become one of the most in-demand comics in the country. His arsenal is unique: high energy stand-up, physical comedy, slick guitar skills, a thousand faces and voices, improvisational chops. It all combines to create an insane comedy experience. And yes, the guy can really sing. “People think I live a rock-star life”, said Hawkins. “Believe me, Mick Jagger never gets lost in a Hertz parking lot looking for his Ford Focus.”

In 2010, Tim is on track for 120+ shows in churches and theaters across 30 states. A former All-American baseball player, he traded the sports stage for the comedy stage and never looked back. The St. Louis native taught himself to play guitar and tested the waters at area comedy clubs. But he determined early in his career that he did not want to focus on the comedy club circuit alone. “People love stand-up, but many choose not to go to comedy clubs. So we’ve gone underground, even counter-culture in a way. And it’s a blast.”

But over the next 10 years, working to support his family was full-time. Comedy was only part-time. By 2002, Hawkins was ready to launch his full-time career as a professional comedian. His art form was honed primarily in churches, with a brief 6-month stint performing in prisons as part of Chuck Colson’s Prison Fellowship. Since his shows ranged from little kids to youth groups to married adults, he had to develop material that would hit a wide age range. “Survival mode, pure and simple. I learned comedy in front of a lot of multi-generational audiences, so I had to find material that would cater to all ages. It’s a thrill to provide a family connection where they can share the experience… and then take a DVD home for another family comedy night. But really, I think my fans are probably just the same people who voted for Sanjaya.”

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Tim Hawkins

In November 2007, Tim decided to test the “Google concept” and give away his comedy for free online. Within 2 years, his music videos and stand-up clips had received over 50,000,000 views on YouTube and Facebook alone. Fan favorites include “The Government Can”, “Cletus Take the Reel”, “Chick-fil-A”, “A Homeschool Family”, and “Things You Don’t Say To Your Wife”. Hawkins has 3 DVDs available: “I’m No Rockstar” (2008), “Bananas II” (2008), and “Full Range of Motion” (2006), as well as 3 CDs of comedy parodies and originals. His current DVD project, “Tim Hawkins Rockshow Comedy Tour”, includes comedian friends John Branyan and Bob Smiley and is scheduled for release November 2010.

With 4 kids of his own and a wife who is winning her battle with breast cancer, Hawkins gets new material daily from the perils of marriage, parenting, and homeschooling. But it must be difficult to work clean all the time, right? “Clean comedy is easy. Funny comedy is hard.” So does Tim think he’s funny? “I’m not bragging, but one time I told a joke in front of a dead bird, and it flew away. And you can Google that.”

Thor Ramsey is a standup comedian and first-time author, which he is hoping to parley into a career of walking from the bed to his laptop.

He is best known for the best-selling “Thou Shalt Laugh” DVDs and the Sony-owned comedy series “Bananas,” which he hosts. His first book A Comedian’s Guide to Theology (Regal Books) is in stores now or you can order it at Amazon.

He is grateful to everyone who supports comedy that doesn’t make you feel like you stepped in something.

Biography
It doesn’t matter that Thor Ramsey happens to work clean. He’s funny. And funny is the thing that matters when you’re watching a comedian.

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Thor had entertained thoughts of being a comedian since high school, thoughts he shared with a high school friend. “She had a dream one night that I did ‘The Tonight Show’,” he said. She told him that he “had a good set, which always stuck with me. I thought, ‘Well, if you’re not going to follow your own dreams, you might as well follow somebody else’s.’”

So, he followed her dream!

11/12/1987 Thor began his comedy career playing the basement lounge of a Ramada Inn in Des Moines, Iowa. (Because if you can make it in Iowa, you can make it anywhere — in Nebraska.) The Ramada’s basement ceiling was so low you could touch it while standing on the stage. Since he’d reached the pinnacle of showbiz in Des Moines, he moved to Chicago. Soon he was working forty-two weeks a year at major comedy clubs around the country. Then he moved close enough to Los Angeles to say that he lives there (but not according to the Post Office).

REVIEWS
His smart, sometimes loud and often opinionated brand of comedy has made him an audience favorite nationwide.

Marty Simpson’s Links

Marty became a follower of Jesus in the tenth grade. He was 16 years old and followed a girl that invited him, to a Young Life meeting. After dating this girl for 4 months, he had heard a lot of talks about this Jesus person.

He got to be close with the Young Life leader in Columbia, South Carolina at the time. On a trip to Destin, Florida with his youth group, which included this girl that dragged him to Young Life, Marty was truly shown the gospel.

In August, later that same year, Marty prayed to receive the Lord in his heart. He gave his testimony in front of hundreds of his classmates at a Young Life retreat called “Windy Gap.” He had been praying for a sign from God to prove to himself that his relationship with Him was real. Marty believed having to stand up for his faith in front of his classmates was indeed this sign. Marty cried while talking in front of the group. He was overwhelmed with emotion while talking about his Young Life leader. So much so, that many students where impacted for the gospel that day.

Marty returned home from Camp on cloud nine. But within a few days started to question God again. This time saying, “God, you spoke to me in your language with that last sign, please speak to me in my own language…something I can really understand.”

Most folks reading this will not understand the significance of what happened next, but those in Columbia, South Carolina in the 1980’s probably will remember.

Just one week after giving his testimony about his relationship with Jesus, and then questioning it upon arriving home, Marty Simpson was fortunate enough to kick the game winning field goal in the 1988 AAAA State Championship game against nationally ranked Gaffney High School.

Simpson's game winning field goal to win the State Championship. Simpson was yelling, "Thank you Jesus!"

Marty said later that the entire run down the field after making the walk off, 3 to 0, winning kick, he was yelling praise God, thank you, Jesus, the whole way!

You can see video of this kick here.

Marty then went on to play football for the University of South Carolina, where he continued his journey with Jesus. After a six month struggle with finding himself his freshmen year, while God spared him from any seriously regrettable mistakes, Marty rededicated his life to the Lord.

It was through an emotional roller coaster of football that Marty started feeling convicted that athletes tended to only show their love for God after touchdowns or after great plays. Marty resolved himself that he would commit to hitting a knee and praying a prayer of thanks after each “attempted” field goal, instead of after each made kick.

As you might imagine it, prophetically, the only real way to really stand out for God after having made this commitment, is to be tested in front of 80,000 screaming fans. This happened in 1992 versus East Carolina. Marty had the finest game of his collegiate career. He set the school record for the longest field goal off the ground, with a 50 yarder, then added 3 more field goals of 46, 27, and 22, while downing 3 punts inside the 5 yard line and kicking off into the end-zone 4 times. All of this was accomplished during a hurricane season-in-the-south torrential down pour. (Video of some of these kicks can be seen here, and the picture in this article is from that game.)

A shot of the 46 yard field vs. East Carolina. Notice the rain soaked lense.

With 8 seconds to go in the game, Simpson lined up in the very stadium where a few years earlier God spoke so clearly to him. (The state championship game in high school was played at USC’s stadium.) The score was 18 to 20, East Carolina was leading. Simpson lined up for a 38 yard field to win the game and seal the deal on some form of national award for special teams player of the week for sure. The snap was perfect, the hold was perfect, but the kick was blocked! With 2 seconds remaining on the clock, East Carolina took the field to down the ball and win the game. Simpson remembered his commitment to the Lord as he walked off the field, and he slowly started to take a knee and pray a prayer of thanksgiving (for the abilities to play and kick and enjoy the great game of college football.)

Then, suddenly in a flash, the coaches were calling to Simpson to retake the field. It turned out that in the rush to the field with only 8 seconds to go in the game, everyone, including the officials, had forgotten that the Gamecocks lined up to kick this field on 3rd down. Ironically, Marty’s roommate had recovered the blocked kick and had done so behind the line of scrimmage, which meant that it was not East Carolina’s ball just yet, but rather, fourth down for the Gamecocks. (The slight problem with the fact that the clock should have kept running will be overlooked and chalked up to a little bit of home cooking by the referees for the home team.)

Shown here on a punt that was down inside the 5 yard line. Showing the rainy weather conditions.

So, Marty trotted back out to the field, having given thanks to the Lord for his “missed” field goal attempt. Marty said later that he truly felt like God had blessed him with the perfect opportunity to glorify Him in a time of adversity, and then spared him from the actual adversity.

However, that would not prove to be entirely true. Now, with the clock set at 2 seconds, Simpson lined up again for another 38 yard field goal. (Simpson’s roommate had taken the ball back to the original line of scrimmage after recovering it.) The snap was perfect, the hold was perfect, but this time, Simpson’s left foot slid about 12 inches in the ground as the water mounted up on the field, and the kick sailed 30-40 feet wide to the right.

Simpson stared on in amazement. Knowing exactly what to do at this point, Simpson slowly took a knee. Just like D.J. Dozier did in 1986 when he scored his game winning touchdown versus Miami, Marty Simpson prayed to the God in heaven, and thanked him for the ability to kick a football, and for the ability to go to the University of South Carolina on scholarship, and for having the best game of his career (right up until the double game losing misses, of course!)

The newspaper the next morning had a large picture of Simpson on one knee praying. Except the caption read, “Simpson sulks with teammates.” Simpson was scheduled to give his testimony at a large church in Columbia that very next morning. He held that picture of the paper up and showed it to the kids and told them that he was not sulking, but that he was praising God. He explained how the newspaper didn’t even ask him what he was doing.

Shown here praying on the Clemson paw after a made 43 yard field goal.

Simpson has maintained since 1992, that adversity in athletics is what provides the means for Christian athletes to bring glory to the Father while playing competively.

Simpson went on to teach and coach at a private Christian School (Ben Lippen) in Columbia, South Carolina for 9 years before becoming a stand-up comedian. His stage material is rooted in the same principles he learned while playing football in high school college. The main principle that you will hear summarized in Simpson’s stage performances is, “God is good, win or lose.”

Marty Simpson is one of our top Christian Comedians. He has a number of videos on YouTube, and we have chosen to feature a few of those for your viewing pleasure. So if you are interested in taking a look at one of our top Christian Comedians, be sure to check out Marty Simpson’s videos.